Hello ARC'ers
everywhere, here is another submission fresh out of my workshop. This time it is
one of our very own Philippine Air Force F5A 'Freedom Fighter'. The F5A was
the leading tactical fighter during it's time equal to the Mig-21. It was the
guardian of our Philippine skies for 20 or so years. However, the
pull-out of the U.S. bases from our country saw also the demise of this
aircraft from our Air Force arsenal. Presently the only existing F5's are
in our air force museum. The markings and insignia depicts the 6th Tactical
Fighter Squadron (cobra) based in the Northern Luzon area. This unit flew the
F5A's and B's.
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images below to see larger images
The model
came
from a 1/48 Revell (Germany) F5E Tigershark kit. As this kit is not readily
available here, I had to order it through the internet, it was a bit expensive as
compared to local prices, but well worth it. I had to convert the 'E' model
into the 'A' model by cutting some of the extensions in the leading edges of the
wing roots. I also did a lot of scratch building with the cockpit and the
landing gear details (thanks to the ARC walk-around pictures). The main decals
for the insignias were printed from my computer's printer as Philippine Air
Force decals are not available anywhere. I used all-Tamiya enamel colors as
these are the only readily available locally. Flat aluminum was used for
the finishing coats some panels were given a tint of blue for the weathering
effects. This is my first attempt at air brushing an entire model.
The over-all build
and fit was good (minimal sanding and filling) as this was a level 3 kit
however the details were not so involved and probably lacking for the more
demanding modellers, but a good challenge for scratch building.
Panel lines
were not recessed and sparse. The out of the box decals were really high in
quality. Overall I'd give the kit an 80 percent rating. Hope you like
this one... Salamat (thanks).
Robert
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images below to see larger images
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